An Old Man Walking by a Stream, with Distant Mountains

Wu Li

Asian Art

Wu Li, an acclaimed Qing dynasty painter, expressed himself through the styles of a select lineage of past artists. Here, sparse trees and an empty pavilion allude to Ni Zan (1301–1374), but Wu Li has reworked the dry, sketchy style of the Yuan dynasty master by incorporating loose, moist brushstrokes to create a richer tonality. Wu Li’s reinterpretation may have been influenced by an increasing awareness of Western artistic techniques, such as chiaroscuro and one-point perspective. Wu Li converted to Christianity in the 1670s, allowing him close contact with the missionaries who brought new images and skills to China from the West.

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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Four colophons on the mounting brocade; one by Guo Ling (1767-1831), and one by Wu Rongguang (1759-1834). Landscape in the Ni Zan (1301-1374) style, depicting an old man walking by a stream in the middle ground, with a pavilion under trees and distant mountains in the background.
Dated "A Winter month of the year bingxu (1706)."
Condition: cracks in the painting, but stable.

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